Harrisburg Professor John Capowski traveled to Beijing in July for the Third International Conference on Evidence Law and Forensic Science organized by China University of Political Science and Law.

The conference featured primarily Chinese scholars and officials and focused on China’s judicial system, but it also brought together evidence scholars and forensic scientists from 5 continents and 12 countries. Henry Lee, the forensic scientist who became prominent during the O.J. Simpson trial, was among the presenters.

Professor Capowski presented an article on China's proposed Uniform Provisions of Evidence, their first comprehensive evidence and procedural code. Though the Uniform Provisions were modeled after the United States’ Federal Rules of Evidence and incorporate principles of American criminal and civil procedure, he focused his remarks on how characteristics of Chinese law were incorporated into the Provisions, which will be interpreted with Chinese influences, including the concepts of "objective justice" and harmonious society. He also spoke about the influence of Confucianism on the application of the Provisions.

Due to the publication of two previous articles Professor Capowski had presented at the two previous International Conferences on Evidence Law and Forensic Science, he has become a well-regarded evidence scholar in China, and he is considered the leading scholar outside of China on China’s judicial reform efforts. As a result, at the close of the conference, he was invited to attend the first plenary session of the Council of the International Association of Evidence Science.